


the world will begin again

by Frenchibi



Category: Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (TV)
Genre: Coping, F/M, Fix-It, Fluff, I had one (1) ship and the show crushed my heart, Love Confessions, Post Season 1, actually set during s2 e3, i am bitter, so have this, the bridge scene we deserved
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-06
Updated: 2018-11-06
Packaged: 2019-08-19 21:58:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,175
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16543046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Frenchibi/pseuds/Frenchibi
Summary: It’s a literal sign. A warning.(About swimming in the river, in this case, but still. The metaphor is clear.)He’s never been one to give a fuck about warnings.





	the world will begin again

He can’t help but smile when he sees her.

Some part of him had been sure - ready to bet a good amount of money, too - that she would find some reason to bail on him again. Or maybe that he would, himself. Their track records are not great.

And yet - here he is, walking up to the bridge where she told him to go, armed with nothing but that tiny bit of uncrushable hope that maybe, just maybe - maybe things would work out, this time.

He stops as he reaches the riverbank - she hasn’t seen him yet. She’s clutching her phone like a lifeline, looking nervously over at the far end of the park.

He takes a step - and stops, again.

There’s a sign, sticking up from the embankment.

_ Danger. _

His father’s words come back to him, how they’re not good for each other, how he might as well just pick up the bottle again if he’s going back to her.

It’s a literal sign. A warning.

(About swimming in the river, in this case, but still. The metaphor is clear.)

He’s never been one to give a fuck about warnings.

 

 

“...hey.”

She spins around so fast she almost topples over, and he’s already reaching out an arm to steady her.

“Whoa, whoa-”

“Oh! Greg, h-hey! I was just- uhm. I was. Uh-”

She straightens up with a sheepish grin, fiddling with her dress. “Sorry. I, uh. I was starting to think you weren’t coming.”

He gives her half a smile and a little shrug. “...so was I, for a moment there. I thought I was seeing signs-”

He stops, shoving his hands in his pockets. “...but then I decided, what the hell. Life’s been… kind of a trip, lately, but… I’m done with other people telling me what to do, y’know? I don’t need signs to make decisions.”

She frowns a little, but then her expression softens.

“...I couldn’t agree more.”

“So. Listen. If… if we’re gonna give this another try-”

She’s already pushing herself up onto the tips of her toes, but he grabs her by the shoulders and holds her down.

“No, Rebecca. Listen.”

“But I thought-”

“Can you just- just for a moment, okay? This is important. And trust me, I want- I want to kiss you, too, I do. But there’s some things we have to talk about first.”

Her eyes have already gone glazed over, and he can tell she’s not paying attention - and god, it would be so easy to just go along with this, like he’s done before, to just let her take control and run them right against the nearest tree - figuratively and literally.

“Rebecca. Stop.”

She pushes against his grip, but when he doesn’t yield, her eyes focus back on him again.

“Don’t you want-”

“What I want,” he says, “is for you to pay attention to what I have to say.”

She looks concerned, but at least she’s listening now.

“I’m- okay. So. I’ve been thinking a lot, lately. Y’know… confronting my issues. Sobering up, in… in all senses. And I’ve been thinking about you, too. About us. About… what went wrong. And I know a lot of it’s on me, and that night at the wedding, when I… when I broke your heart. But that’s not the only thing.”

She’s got her mouth open, poised to interrupt, but he shakes his head.

“I gotta get this out, okay? I was- I was afraid. Our relationship was casual, and I thought that was all I could handle, because… because I was desperately, stupidly in love with you, and I was terrified of what that meant, and of how vulnerable that made me. Especially because… you still liked Josh.”

“Greg-”

“If we’re going to try this again, I… I’m not going to be casual about it, because I don’t think I can. I want to start over, too, but… I can’t lie to you. And I don’t want to.”

Rebecca bites her lip, eyes searching his face.

“Okay, I get-”

“No, no you don’t get it. Not yet. Look… if it’s gonna be us, then… then it’s gonna be  _ us, _ okay? No more schemes. No decisions behind each other’s backs - I decided to not be serious, but then I went and fucked it up. You decided to sett- ...to pick me, and then you ran right back to Josh - I know! You don’t have to say it, and I don’t blame you. But… this time, that won’t happen again. ‘Cause if… if you choose me, I’m not gonna let you go again.”

“Greg.”

“And I know that sounds like. Possessive and weird but that’s not what I mean. What I mean is- I just-”

“Greg. Hey.”

He takes a breath, blinking. Emotions are difficult, but he’s saying this, if it fucking kills him.

“I love you, Rebecca. I mean it. And this is like… last call. You gotta make a choice. And then… and then stick with it. No more bouncing back and forth. No more… no more of the plotting, either. If you want something, if you’re worried, if you’re lonely, just… just tell me. You don’t have to- I’ll take care of you. I’ll-”

He stops, because she’s reached out and threaded their fingers together.

“...you ramble when you’re nervous,” she says quietly.

He lets out a little laugh. “Well- yeah. I can’t hide behind whiskey and tequila forever, so… you’d better get used to it.”

“Yeah, about that - I’m. I’m really proud of you, Greg.” She pauses for a second. “A-and I know that doesn’t mean much, coming from someone like me, god knows I have a heap of other issues, and… and I thought Josh was gonna solve them all, and then for a bit I thought you would, and now- seeing you confront your problems head-on is actually… it’s really inspiring. It’s like you said, we… we need to make our own decisions.”

He smiles, albeit a little sadly.

“I can’t heal you, Rebecca.”

“And I’m not asking you to. I can’t fix you, either, but… but maybe we can… y’know. Face the future together. Support each other.”

He tilts his head, just a bit. “...that sounds nice.”

She chuckles, betraying her nerves. “Doesn’t it?”

“...yeah.”

“Y’know, it’s funny… I used to live my life completely by logic, and it made me so miserable - and then I spiraled in the other direction, I took advice from literal signs and did the first dumb thing that crossed my mind in order to find true love, but…”

“...life wasn’t the fairy tale you wanted?”, he ventures. She hasn’t let go of his hands.

“Not at  _ all. _ Life is hard, and we don’t get fairy tale endings, at least… not just like that. Maybe it’s time to… make our own ending.”

He leans forward, ever so slightly.

“...I like the sound of that.”

She’s nodding - and she’s doing the tiptoe thing again. Of course. He can’t stop his smile, and he doesn’t really want to.

“Yeah,” she breathes, eyes fluttering closed. “me, too.”

**Author's Note:**

> ...so maybe I will write part 2 tomorrow. I just needed to get this out of my system. GOD I was so ANGRY :'))


End file.
